Qasim Amin

Egypt's first feminist thinker who challenged gender roles in Islamic societies during the 1890s

Qasim Amin (1863-1908) was an Egyptian jurist whose 1899 book sparked debates across the Arab world. As a judge in Cairo, he argued for women's education, legal rights, and rejection of veiling in essays published in al-Muhammadiya journal. His 1907 treatise on women's political participation prefigured modern feminism. Though controversial in his time, his ideas influenced Turkish women's suffrage movements and later Arab feminists like Huda Shaarawi. Amin's critique of gender inequality in Islamic jurisprudence remains foundational to Middle Eastern feminist discourse. His work is analyzed in modern studies including Arab Feminism in the 19th Century. Despite opposition from religious authorities, his writings remain required reading in Cairo University's gender studies programs today.